Looking at the few students who had come by, I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or a little disappointed. Somehow, I managed to be both at the same time, which was a fairly odd sensation; however, this entire situation was a little odd. On the positive side, these people had shown up, uncertain if there would even be a lesson from yours truly or if they would have to make do with Luna. While my daughter was a competent spellcaster, she wasn’t overly interested in arcane theory; she focused on biology and the interactions between magic and life itself, leaving her somewhat unprepared to provide comprehensive lessons on magical fundamentals.
However, while a few people had shown up, it was a rather small group, only eight people, and two of those weren’t even spellcasters as far as I could tell. The pair had escorted one of my students, and now they were stuck here and decided to listen in on the lesson. However, I wasn’t sure how their interest was in the actual study of magic and how much was because they didn’t want to be bored; I couldn’t rightly tell. Not that it truly mattered; they were here, quietly listening, despite their obvious ignorance and inability to understand the deeper concepts I was discussing. That was more than enough for me to accept them, especially when I noticed the wonder in their eyes as one of the other students was using her magic to reshape the ground on a fairly wide scale.
Sure, the young woman wouldn’t be pulling entire houses out of the ground anytime soon, but I was fairly certain that she’d be able to build one in a day or two, depending on the local geography. She would have to get better with her magical senses, so she’d be able to find rocks deeper underground, or she’d be stuck using and reshaping surface rocks, but that was part of what I was teaching her. How to connect with the ground, to find the rocks beneath your feet and utilise them.
It was pretty interesting, and as it turned out, it was a fairly valuable lesson for the rest of my class, especially when the discussion shifted toward the various ways to manipulate their individual elements. When was it best to use what was around you, even if it might need a larger, initial expenditure of power? When was directly conjuring what you needed the advised course of action, and how could such conjurations be anchored and reinforced? There was a lot to cover on this topic, despite it being one of the most basic forms of elemental magic. However, in this case, 'basic' meant it was a significant part of the fundamental use and was almost always relevant.
Afterwards, the lesson shifted towards the more conceptual parts of their individual elements, forcing me to occasionally dig fairly deep into my mental inventory so I could speak confidently and from experience, at least when it came to the majority of their concerns. For one of them, somebody with an innate affinity towards Weather Magic, things were a little more difficult.
Weather Magic was, to the best of my knowledge, a rare affinity, one I had only seen once before, and to call it complicated was an understatement. From what I could tell, it seemed to be an odd mix of Water and Wind Magic, but innately geared towards making small changes to influence larger systems. A little like that old saw about the flapping wings of a butterfly creating a whirlwind on the other side of the globe, just with a little more control.
It was something utterly foreign to my understanding of magic, meaning I had to learn as I taught, which was quite challenging, mainly because the guy in question had a relatively limited understanding of what he could do and what effects his actions would have.
One part of me wanted to tie the guy up so I could study this weird magical affinity to my heart’s content. Another part of me wanted to chuck him into the sea or something like that. Anything to keep him, and the chaotic effects of his powerful, but currently largely uncontrolled, magic away from me, my children and the structures I had built.
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However, in the end, a third part of me ultimately prevailed. Namely, the part of the dedicated teacher who wished to do right by her students and give them the guidance they needed to become productive and useful members of society. As such, I did my best to guide him on the path of Meditation, trying to teach him how to divine the effects of his actions before he took them. It was difficult, and would likely become harder as he gained power, but it was a solution for his troubles and would hopefully turn his magic into a boon to his community.
At the moment, he was pretty much relegated to being a labourer, as his control was just too sloppy. Apparently, he had tried to make it rain above their fields in an effort to water them. It hadn’t worked out as hoped, though I had to give him credit for his caution. Instead of experimenting on their limited food supply, the guy had marked off areas outside their village and used those as a stand-in. His precautions turned out to be necessary when the rain he conjured was somehow limited to a narrow area and quickly turned into hail. Afterwards, the entire area looked fairly devastated, with grass, shrubs and even a few trees damaged or outright destroyed by the weather he had conjured.
Just as I was wrapping up the lesson, I noticed somebody approaching the tower, looking incredibly uncertain. Almost as if he was lost in the forest and had decided to head towards the bright Oculus atop my tower, and wasn’t sure what fate had in store for him. A part of me briefly considered creating a replica of the Black Gates of Mordor, but quickly decided against it, largely because it would be a massive waste. And far too big for the relatively small quarry the gates would be guarding. If I tried to replicate them faithfully, the wall protecting my tower would be more gate than wall by length. No, the current state, with an open gate for anyone wanting to enter the quarry, was suitable, especially considering the shrine within my tower.
My eyes couldn’t help but widen in surprise when I realised that I could recognise the guy heading into the quarry. It was a citizen of the Blessed City, though not a particularly powerful one. Just one of the numerous guys living behind those wards, who had, for some reason, made the fairly hazardous trek to my tower. Alone, by the looks of it, making it even more dangerous, given that the guy didn’t seem to be all that powerful.
For a moment, I worried that this might be some sort of trap, or maybe a suicide attack, and activated all my senses, trying to understand everything I could about the guy. To my surprise, everything I did came back negatively, or rather, it came back thoroughly mediocre.
Level twenty-seven, an unimpressive amount of Astral Power, no visible weapons, nothing that would make him a threat. His soul, from what I could tell with a glance from a distance, wasn’t all that special either, and when I used my Mind Magic in an effort to glean his intentions, the results were benign, too.
The man was simply unsatisfied with the current state of the Blessed City, especially with the constantly rising tensions, and decided to strike out on his own, heading towards the prominent and obvious landmark, Jademoon Tower.
“Greetings,” I met the guy halfway into the quarry, my senses still peeled and my body ready to retreat the moment I noticed anything amiss. Just because I hadn’t been able to sense any danger from him didn’t mean he wouldn’t bring danger into my domain. “What brings you here?”
“Er, hi,” he replied, sounding just as lost as he looked, “I’m, well, I’m trying to find a good place for me,” he admitted, after I subtly prodded him with Mind Magic to make him a little more forthcoming and honest.
“What is this place? How can a tower like this be here?” It was quite amusing to observe him from up close. Especially his disbelief that a structure like this was possible, especially as it was obviously built after the change, made me want to laugh. Still, I kept my face impassive, simply studying him as he looked around.
“A place for you, the question would be, what do you bring to the table to earn your place?” I asked, my voice still calm but getting a little chilly. “Why would we want to add you to our community, or why would any community want to accept you?”
The guy’s appearance had been enough to attract my students, who were now watching and listening from nearby. It would be interesting to see how this would develop.
